Potted film reviews by Gary Anthony Cross

Blade 2 (2002)

Wesley Snipes once again dons the leather overcoat, this time to join forces with an elite vampire unit to combat a race of Nosferatu like zombie vampire hybrids who threaten to overrun both races.

Blade II is essentially the vampire film’s answer to Aliens; the high octane action of the first film still in evidence, but this time it is added to by Guillermo Del Toro’s keen sense of style and atmosphere. The production design is fantastic and the script involving different factions constantly vying for the upper hand is far more complex than that of most superhero films – in fact script writer David Goyer went on to co-write The Dark Knight. My only gripe is that some of the CGI is starting to look a little dated in a similar way to the original Spiderman films, but this is a comparatively minor point. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but for fans of the genre Blade 2 is a visceral cocktail of vampiric gore and martial arts mayhem that action junkies and horror fans alike should not miss.